Completion mechanism for transmission using preconfigured uplink resource

ABSTRACT

A method and apparatus for completion mechanism for transmission using preconfigured uplink resource (PUR) in a wireless communication system is provided. While in a radio resource control (RRC) idle state and/or an RRC inactive state, a wireless device configured to operate in a wireless communication system i) performs uplink (UL) data transmission using a preconfigured uplink resource (PUR) to a network, ii) attempts to acquire downlink (DL) information on a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) from the network, and iii) based on the DL information including only timing advance command (TAC) media access control (MAC) control element (CE), considers that the UL data transmission using the PUR is successful.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to completion mechanism for transmission using preconfigured uplink resource (PUR).

BACKGROUND

3rd generation partnership project (3GPP) long-term evolution (LTE) is a technology for enabling high-speed packet communications. Many schemes have been proposed for the LTE objective including those that aim to reduce user and provider costs, improve service quality, and expand and improve coverage and system capacity. The 3GPP LTE requires reduced cost per bit, increased service availability, flexible use of a frequency band, a simple structure, an open interface, and adequate power consumption of a terminal as an upper-level requirement.

Work has started in international telecommunication union (ITU) and 3GPP to develop requirements and specifications for new radio (NR) systems. 3GPP has to identify and develop the technology components needed for successfully standardizing the new RAT timely satisfying both the urgent market needs, and the more long-term requirements set forth by the ITU radio communication sector (ITU-R) international mobile telecommunications (IMT)-2020 process. Further, the NR should be able to use any spectrum band ranging at least up to 100 GHz that may be made available for wireless communications even in a more distant future.

The NR targets a single technical framework addressing all usage scenarios, requirements and deployment scenarios including enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), massive machine-type-communications (mMTC), ultra-reliable and low latency communications (URLLC), etc. The NR shall be inherently forward compatible.

In Rel-13, narrowband internet-of-things (NB-IoT) and LTE for MTC (LTE-M) were standardized to provide wide-area connectivity for IoT. The technologies in Rel-14 evolved beyond the basic functionality specified in Rel-13.

SUMMARY

Preconfigured uplink resource (PUR) is designed for NB-IoT and MTC networks in order to save power consumption for data transmission. The UE may transmit UL data in RRC_IDLE and/or RRC INACTIVE without random access procedure and/or state transition to a connected state (e.g., RRC_CONNECTED). A method for completing a procedure for transmission using PUR may be required.

In an aspect, a method performed by a wireless device configured to operate in a wireless communication system is provided. The method includes, while in a radio resource control (RRC) idle state and/or an RRC inactive state, i) performing uplink (UL) data transmission using a preconfigured uplink resource (PUR) to a network, ii) attempting to acquire downlink (DL) information on a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) from the network, and iii) based on the DL information including only timing advance command (TAC) media access control (MAC) control element (CE), considering that the UL data transmission using the PUR is successful.

In another aspect, an apparatus for implementing the above method is provided.

The present disclosure can have various advantageous effects.

For example, a UE can effectively determine whether UL data transmission using PUR is successful or not based on DL information. If the DL information includes only TAC MAC CE, the UE can consider that the UL data transmission using PUR is successful.

For example, a UE does not need to PDCCH and may directly acquire DL information on PDSCH. A network may configure PDSCH scheduling information with UL resource configuration. By skipping monitoring PDCCH, the UE can reduce power consumption to monitor PDCCH and may quickly acquire DL information.

Advantageous effects which can be obtained through specific embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to the advantageous effects listed above. For example, there may be a variety of technical effects that a person having ordinary skill in the related art can understand and/or derive from the present disclosure. Accordingly, the specific effects of the present disclosure are not limited to those explicitly described herein, but may include various effects that may be understood or derived from the technical features of the present disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows an example of a communication system to which implementations of the present disclosure is applied.

FIG. 2 shows an example of wireless devices to which implementations of the present disclosure is applied.

FIG. 3 shows an example of a wireless device to which implementations of the present disclosure is applied.

FIG. 4 shows another example of wireless devices to which implementations of the present disclosure is applied.

FIG. 5 shows an example of UE to which implementations of the present disclosure is applied.

FIGS. 6 and 7 show an example of protocol stacks in a 3GPP based wireless communication system to which implementations of the present disclosure is applied.

FIG. 8 shows a frame structure in a 3GPP based wireless communication system to which implementations of the present disclosure is applied.

FIG. 9 shows a data flow example in the 3GPP NR system to which implementations of the present disclosure is applied.

FIG. 10 shows an example of a general procedure for transmission using PUR.

FIG. 11 shows another example of a general procedure for transmission using PUR.

FIG. 12 shows an example of a method performed by a wireless device configured to operate in a wireless communication system to which implementations of the present disclosure is applied.

FIG. 13 shows an example of a method performed by a wireless device and a network node configured to operate in a wireless communication system to which implementations of the present disclosure is applied.

FIG. 14 shows an example of a method for acquiring DL information on PDSCH in RRC_IDLE and/or RRC_INACTIVE to which implementations of the present disclosure is applied.

FIG. 15 shows an example of TAC MAC CE to which implementations of the present disclosure is applied.

FIG. 16 shows an example of TAC MAC CE including acknowledgement of UL transmission to which implementations of the present disclosure is applied.

FIG. 17 shows another example of TAC MAC CE including acknowledgement of UL transmission to which implementations of the present disclosure is applied.

FIG. 18 shows an example of transmission using PUR for the control plane cellular IoT (CIoT) evolved packet system (EPS)/5G system (5GS) optimizations to which implementations of the present disclosure is applied.

FIG. 19 shows an example of transmission using PUR for the user plane CIoT EPS optimization to which implementations of the present disclosure is applied.

FIG. 20 shows an example of transmission using PUR for the user plane CIoT 5GS optimization to which implementations of the present disclosure is applied.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following techniques, apparatuses, and systems may be applied to a variety of wireless multiple access systems. Examples of the multiple access systems include a code division multiple access (CDMA) system, a frequency division multiple access (FDMA) system, a time division multiple access (TDMA) system, an orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) system, a single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) system, and a multicarrier frequency division multiple access (MC-FDMA) system. CDMA may be embodied through radio technology such as universal terrestrial radio access (UTRA) or CDMA2000. TDMA may be embodied through radio technology such as global system for mobile communications (GSM), general packet radio service (GPRS), or enhanced data rates for GSM evolution (EDGE). OFDMA may be embodied through radio technology such as institute of electrical and electronics engineers (IEEE) 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20, or evolved UTRA (E-UTRA). UTRA is a part of a universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS). 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP) long term evolution (LTE) is a part of evolved UMTS (E-UMTS) using E-UTRA. 3GPP LTE employs OFDMA in DL and SC-FDMA in UL. LTE-advanced (LTE-A) is an evolved version of 3GPP LTE.

For convenience of description, implementations of the present disclosure are mainly described in regards to a 3GPP based wireless communication system. However, the technical features of the present disclosure are not limited thereto. For example, although the following detailed description is given based on a mobile communication system corresponding to a 3GPP based wireless communication system, aspects of the present disclosure that are not limited to 3GPP based wireless communication system are applicable to other mobile communication systems.

For terms and technologies which are not specifically described among the terms of and technologies employed in the present disclosure, the wireless communication standard documents published before the present disclosure may be referenced.

In the present disclosure, “A or B” may mean “only A”, “only B”, or “both A and B”. In other words, “A or B” in the present disclosure may be interpreted as “A and/or B”. For example, “A, B or C” in the present disclosure may mean “only A”, “only B”, “only C”, or “any combination of A, B and C”.

In the present disclosure, slash (/) or comma (,) may mean “and/or”. For example, “A/B” may mean “A and/or B”. Accordingly, “A/B” may mean “only A”, “only B”, or “both A and B”. For example, “A, B, C” may mean “A, B or C”.

In the present disclosure, “at least one of A and B” may mean “only A”, “only B” or “both A and B”. In addition, the expression “at least one of A or B” or “at least one of A and/or B” in the present disclosure may be interpreted as same as “at least one of A and B”.

In addition, in the present disclosure, “at least one of A, B and C” may mean “only A”, “only B”, “only C”, or “any combination of A, B and C”. In addition, “at least one of A, B or C” or “at least one of A, B and/or C” may mean “at least one of A, B and C”.

Also, parentheses used in the present disclosure may mean “for example”. In detail, when it is shown as “control information (PDCCH)”, “PDCCH” may be proposed as an example of “control information”. In other words, “control information” in the present disclosure is not limited to “PDCCH”, and “PDDCH” may be proposed as an example of “control information”. In addition, even when shown as “control information (i.e., PDCCH)”, “PDCCH” may be proposed as an example of “control information”.

Technical features that are separately described in one drawing in the present disclosure may be implemented separately or simultaneously.

Although not limited thereto, various descriptions, functions, procedures, suggestions, methods and/or operational flowcharts of the present disclosure disclosed herein can be applied to various fields requiring wireless communication and/or connection (e.g., 5G) between devices.

Hereinafter, the present disclosure will be described in more detail with reference to drawings. The same reference numerals in the following drawings and/or descriptions may refer to the same and/or corresponding hardware blocks, software blocks, and/or functional blocks unless otherwise indicated.

FIG. 1 shows an example of a communication system to which implementations of the present disclosure is applied.

The 5G usage scenarios shown in FIG. 1 are only exemplary, and the technical features of the present disclosure can be applied to other 5G usage scenarios which are not shown in FIG. 1.

Three main requirement categories for 5G include (1) a category of enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), (2) a category of massive machine type communication (mMTC), and (3) a category of ultra-reliable and low latency communications (URLLC).

Partial use cases may require a plurality of categories for optimization and other use cases may focus only upon one key performance indicator (KPI). 5G supports such various use cases using a flexible and reliable method.

eMBB far surpasses basic mobile Internet access and covers abundant bidirectional work and media and entertainment applications in cloud and augmented reality. Data is one of 5G core motive forces and, in a 5G era, a dedicated voice service may not be provided for the first time. In 5G, it is expected that voice will be simply processed as an application program using data connection provided by a communication system. Main causes for increased traffic volume are due to an increase in the size of content and an increase in the number of applications requiring high data transmission rate. A streaming service (of audio and video), conversational video, and mobile Internet access will be more widely used as more devices are connected to the Internet. These many application programs require connectivity of an always turned-on state in order to push real-time information and alarm for users. Cloud storage and applications are rapidly increasing in a mobile communication platform and may be applied to both work and entertainment. The cloud storage is a special use case which accelerates growth of uplink data transmission rate. 5G is also used for remote work of cloud. When a tactile interface is used, 5G demands much lower end-to-end latency to maintain user good experience. Entertainment, for example, cloud gaming and video streaming, is another core element which increases demand for mobile broadband capability. Entertainment is essential for a smartphone and a tablet in any place including high mobility environments such as a train, a vehicle, and an airplane. Other use cases are augmented reality for entertainment and information search. In this case, the augmented reality requires very low latency and instantaneous data volume.

In addition, one of the most expected 5G use cases relates a function capable of smoothly connecting embedded sensors in all fields, i.e., mMTC. It is expected that the number of potential Internet-of-things (IoT) devices will reach 204 hundred million up to the year of 2020. An industrial IoT is one of categories of performing a main role enabling a smart city, asset tracking, smart utility, agriculture, and security infrastructure through 5G.

URLLC includes a new service that will change industry through remote control of main infrastructure and an ultra-reliable/available low-latency link such as a self-driving vehicle. A level of reliability and latency is essential to control a smart grid, automatize industry, achieve robotics, and control and adjust a drone.

5G is a means of providing streaming evaluated as a few hundred megabits per second to gigabits per second and may complement fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) and cable-based broadband (or DOCSIS). Such fast speed is needed to deliver TV in resolution of 4K or more (6K, 8K, and more), as well as virtual reality and augmented reality. Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) applications include almost immersive sports games. A specific application program may require a special network configuration. For example, for VR games, gaming companies need to incorporate a core server into an edge network server of a network operator in order to minimize latency.

Automotive is expected to be a new important motivated force in 5G together with many use cases for mobile communication for vehicles. For example, entertainment for passengers requires high simultaneous capacity and mobile broadband with high mobility. This is because future users continue to expect connection of high quality regardless of their locations and speeds. Another use case of an automotive field is an AR dashboard. The AR dashboard causes a driver to identify an object in the dark in addition to an object seen from a front window and displays a distance from the object and a movement of the object by overlapping information talking to the driver. In the future, a wireless module enables communication between vehicles, information exchange between a vehicle and supporting infrastructure, and information exchange between a vehicle and other connected devices (e.g., devices accompanied by a pedestrian). A safety system guides alternative courses of a behavior so that a driver may drive more safely drive, thereby lowering the danger of an accident. The next stage will be a remotely controlled or self-driven vehicle. This requires very high reliability and very fast communication between different self-driven vehicles and between a vehicle and infrastructure. In the future, a self-driven vehicle will perform all driving activities and a driver will focus only upon abnormal traffic that the vehicle cannot identify. Technical requirements of a self-driven vehicle demand ultra-low latency and ultra-high reliability so that traffic safety is increased to a level that cannot be achieved by human being.

A smart city and a smart home/building mentioned as a smart society will be embedded in a high-density wireless sensor network. A distributed network of an intelligent sensor will identify conditions for costs and energy-efficient maintenance of a city or a home. Similar configurations may be performed for respective households. All of temperature sensors, window and heating controllers, burglar alarms, and home appliances are wirelessly connected. Many of these sensors are typically low in data transmission rate, power, and cost. However, real-time HD video may be demanded by a specific type of device to perform monitoring.

Consumption and distribution of energy including heat or gas is distributed at a higher level so that automated control of the distribution sensor network is demanded. The smart grid collects information and connects the sensors to each other using digital information and communication technology so as to act according to the collected information. Since this information may include behaviors of a supply company and a consumer, the smart grid may improve distribution of fuels such as electricity by a method having efficiency, reliability, economic feasibility, production sustainability, and automation. The smart grid may also be regarded as another sensor network having low latency.

Mission critical application (e.g., e-health) is one of 5G use scenarios. A health part contains many application programs capable of enjoying benefit of mobile communication. A communication system may support remote treatment that provides clinical treatment in a faraway place. Remote treatment may aid in reducing a barrier against distance and improve access to medical services that cannot be continuously available in a faraway rural area. Remote treatment is also used to perform important treatment and save lives in an emergency situation. The wireless sensor network based on mobile communication may provide remote monitoring and sensors for parameters such as heart rate and blood pressure.

Wireless and mobile communication gradually becomes important in the field of an industrial application. Wiring is high in installation and maintenance cost. Therefore, a possibility of replacing a cable with reconstructible wireless links is an attractive opportunity in many industrial fields. However, in order to achieve this replacement, it is necessary for wireless connection to be established with latency, reliability, and capacity similar to those of the cable and management of wireless connection needs to be simplified. Low latency and a very low error probability are new requirements when connection to 5G is needed.

Logistics and freight tracking are important use cases for mobile communication that enables inventory and package tracking anywhere using a location-based information system. The use cases of logistics and freight typically demand low data rate but require location information with a wide range and reliability.

Referring to FIG. 1, the communication system 1 includes wireless devices 100 a to 100 f, base stations (BSs) 200, and a network 300. Although FIG. 1 illustrates a 5G network as an example of the network of the communication system 1, the implementations of the present disclosure are not limited to the 5G system, and can be applied to the future communication system beyond the 5G system.

The BSs 200 and the network 300 may be implemented as wireless devices and a specific wireless device may operate as a BS/network node with respect to other wireless devices.

The wireless devices 100 a to 100 f represent devices performing communication using radio access technology (RAT) (e.g., 5G new RAT (NR)) or LTE) and may be referred to as communication/radio/5G devices. The wireless devices 100 a to 100 f may include, without being limited to, a robot 100 a, vehicles 100 b-1 and 100 b-2, an extended reality (XR) device 100 c, a hand-held device 100 d, a home appliance 100 e, an IoT device 100 f, and an artificial intelligence (AI) device/server 400. For example, the vehicles may include a vehicle having a wireless communication function, an autonomous driving vehicle, and a vehicle capable of performing communication between vehicles. The vehicles may include an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) (e.g., a drone). The XR device may include an AR/VR/Mixed Reality (MR) device and may be implemented in the form of a head-mounted device (HMD), a head-up display (HUD) mounted in a vehicle, a television, a smartphone, a computer, a wearable device, a home appliance device, a digital signage, a vehicle, a robot, etc. The hand-held device may include a smartphone, a smartpad, a wearable device (e.g., a smartwatch or a smartglasses), and a computer (e.g., a notebook). The home appliance may include a TV, a refrigerator, and a washing machine. The IoT device may include a sensor and a smartmeter.

In the present disclosure, the wireless devices 100 a to 100 f may be called user equipments (UEs). A UE may include, for example, a cellular phone, a smartphone, a laptop computer, a digital broadcast terminal, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a portable multimedia player (PMP), a navigation system, a slate personal computer (PC), a tablet PC, an ultrabook, a vehicle, a vehicle having an autonomous traveling function, a connected car, an UAV, an AI module, a robot, an AR device, a VR device, an MR device, a hologram device, a public safety device, an MTC device, an IoT device, a medical device, a FinTech device (or a financial device), a security device, a weather/environment device, a device related to a 5G service, or a device related to a fourth industrial revolution field.

The UAV may be, for example, an aircraft aviated by a wireless control signal without a human being onboard.

The VR device may include, for example, a device for implementing an object or a background of the virtual world. The AR device may include, for example, a device implemented by connecting an object or a background of the virtual world to an object or a background of the real world. The MR device may include, for example, a device implemented by merging an object or a background of the virtual world into an object or a background of the real world. The hologram device may include, for example, a device for implementing a stereoscopic image of 360 degrees by recording and reproducing stereoscopic information, using an interference phenomenon of light generated when two laser lights called holography meet.

The public safety device may include, for example, an image relay device or an image device that is wearable on the body of a user.

The MTC device and the IoT device may be, for example, devices that do not require direct human intervention or manipulation. For example, the MTC device and the IoT device may include smartmeters, vending machines, thermometers, smartbulbs, door locks, or various sensors.

Here, the radio communication technologies implemented in the wireless devices in the present disclosure may include narrowband internet-of-things (NB-IoT) technology for low-power communication as well as LTE, NR and 6G. For example, NB-IoT technology may be an example of low power wide area network (LPWAN) technology, may be implemented in specifications such as LTE Cat NB1 and/or LTE Cat NB2, and may not be limited to the above-mentioned names. Additionally and/or alternatively, the radio communication technologies implemented in the wireless devices in the present disclosure may communicate based on LTE-M technology. For example, LTE-M technology may be an example of LPWAN technology and be called by various names such as enhanced machine type communication (eMTC). For example, LTE-M technology may be implemented in at least one of the various specifications, such as 1) LTE Cat 0, 2) LTE Cat M1, 3) LTE Cat M2, 4) LTE non-bandwidth limited (non-BL), 5) LTE-MTC, 6) LTE Machine Type Communication, and/or 7) LTE M, and may not be limited to the above-mentioned names. Additionally and/or alternatively, the radio communication technologies implemented in the wireless devices in the present disclosure may include at least one of ZigBee, Bluetooth, and/or LPWAN which take into account low-power communication, and may not be limited to the above-mentioned names. For example, ZigBee technology may generate personal area networks (PANs) associated with small/low-power digital communication based on various specifications such as IEEE 802.15.4 and may be called various names.

The medical device may be, for example, a device used for the purpose of diagnosing, treating, relieving, curing, or preventing disease. For example, the medical device may be a device used for the purpose of diagnosing, treating, relieving, or correcting injury or impairment. For example, the medical device may be a device used for the purpose of inspecting, replacing, or modifying a structure or a function. For example, the medical device may be a device used for the purpose of adjusting pregnancy. For example, the medical device may include a device for treatment, a device for operation, a device for (in vitro) diagnosis, a hearing aid, or a device for procedure.

The security device may be, for example, a device installed to prevent a danger that may arise and to maintain safety. For example, the security device may be a camera, a closed-circuit TV (CCTV), a recorder, or a black box.

The FinTech device may be, for example, a device capable of providing a financial service such as mobile payment. For example, the FinTech device may include a payment device or a point of sales (POS) system.

The weather/environment device may include, for example, a device for monitoring or predicting a weather/environment.

The wireless devices 100 a to 100 f may be connected to the network 300 via the BSs 200. An AI technology may be applied to the wireless devices 100 a to 100 f and the wireless devices 100 a to 100 f may be connected to the AI server 400 via the network 300. The network 300 may be configured using a 3G network, a 4G (e.g., LTE) network, a 5G (e.g., NR) network, and a beyond-5G network. Although the wireless devices 100 a to 100 f may communicate with each other through the BSs 200/network 300, the wireless devices 100 a to 100 f may perform direct communication (e.g., sidelink communication) with each other without passing through the BSs 200/network 300. For example, the vehicles 100 b-1 and 100 b-2 may perform direct communication (e.g., vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V)/vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication). The IoT device (e.g., a sensor) may perform direct communication with other IoT devices (e.g., sensors) or other wireless devices 100 a to 100 f.

Wireless communication/connections 150 a, 150 b and 150 c may be established between the wireless devices 100 a to 100 f and/or between wireless device 100 a to 100 f and BS 200 and/or between BSs 200. Herein, the wireless communication/connections may be established through various RATs (e.g., 5G NR) such as uplink/downlink communication 150 a, sidelink communication (or device-to-device (D2D) communication) 150 b, inter-base station communication 150 c (e.g., relay, integrated access and backhaul (IAB)), etc. The wireless devices 100 a to 100 f and the BSs 200/the wireless devices 100 a to 100 f may transmit/receive radio signals to/from each other through the wireless communication/connections 150 a, 150 b and 150 c. For example, the wireless communication/connections 150 a, 150 b and 150 c may transmit/receive signals through various physical channels. To this end, at least a part of various configuration information configuring processes, various signal processing processes (e.g., channel encoding/decoding, modulation/demodulation, and resource mapping/de-mapping), and resource allocating processes, for transmitting/receiving radio signals, may be performed based on the various proposals of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 shows an example of wireless devices to which implementations of the present disclosure is applied.

Referring to FIG. 2, a first wireless device 100 and a second wireless device 200 may transmit/receive radio signals to/from an external device through a variety of RATs (e.g., LTE and NR). In FIG. 2, {the first wireless device 100 and the second wireless device 200} may correspond to at least one of {the wireless device 100 a to 100 f and the BS 200}, {the wireless device 100 a to 100 f and the wireless device 100 a to 100 f} and/or {the BS 200 and the BS 200} of FIG. 1.

The first wireless device 100 may include one or more processors 102 and one or more memories 104 and additionally further include one or more transceivers 106 and/or one or more antennas 108. The processor(s) 102 may control the memory(s) 104 and/or the transceiver(s) 106 and may be configured to implement the descriptions, functions, procedures, suggestions, methods and/or operational flowcharts described in the present disclosure. For example, the processor(s) 102 may process information within the memory(s) 104 to generate first information/signals and then transmit radio signals including the first information/signals through the transceiver(s) 106. The processor(s) 102 may receive radio signals including second information/signals through the transceiver(s) 106 and then store information obtained by processing the second information/signals in the memory(s) 104. The memory(s) 104 may be connected to the processor(s) 102 and may store a variety of information related to operations of the processor(s) 102. For example, the memory(s) 104 may store software code including commands for performing a part or the entirety of processes controlled by the processor(s) 102 or for performing the descriptions, functions, procedures, suggestions, methods and/or operational flowcharts described in the present disclosure. Herein, the processor(s) 102 and the memory(s) 104 may be a part of a communication modem/circuit/chip designed to implement RAT (e.g., LTE or NR). The transceiver(s) 106 may be connected to the processor(s) 102 and transmit and/or receive radio signals through one or more antennas 108. Each of the transceiver(s) 106 may include a transmitter and/or a receiver. The transceiver(s) 106 may be interchangeably used with radio frequency (RF) unit(s). In the present disclosure, the first wireless device 100 may represent a communication modem/circuit/chip.

The second wireless device 200 may include one or more processors 202 and one or more memories 204 and additionally further include one or more transceivers 206 and/or one or more antennas 208. The processor(s) 202 may control the memory(s) 204 and/or the transceiver(s) 206 and may be configured to implement the descriptions, functions, procedures, suggestions, methods and/or operational flowcharts described in the present disclosure. For example, the processor(s) 202 may process information within the memory(s) 204 to generate third information/signals and then transmit radio signals including the third information/signals through the transceiver(s) 206. The processor(s) 202 may receive radio signals including fourth information/signals through the transceiver(s) 106 and then store information obtained by processing the fourth information/signals in the memory(s) 204. The memory(s) 204 may be connected to the processor(s) 202 and may store a variety of information related to operations of the processor(s) 202. For example, the memory(s) 204 may store software code including commands for performing a part or the entirety of processes controlled by the processor(s) 202 or for performing the descriptions, functions, procedures, suggestions, methods and/or operational flowcharts described in the present disclosure. Herein, the processor(s) 202 and the memory(s) 204 may be a part of a communication modem/circuit/chip designed to implement RAT (e.g., LTE or NR). The transceiver(s) 206 may be connected to the processor(s) 202 and transmit and/or receive radio signals through one or more antennas 208. Each of the transceiver(s) 206 may include a transmitter and/or a receiver. The transceiver(s) 206 may be interchangeably used with RF unit(s). In the present disclosure, the second wireless device 200 may represent a communication modem/circuit/chip.

Hereinafter, hardware elements of the wireless devices 100 and 200 will be described more specifically. One or more protocol layers may be implemented by, without being limited to, one or more processors 102 and 202. For example, the one or more processors 102 and 202 may implement one or more layers (e.g., functional layers such as physical (PHY) layer, media access control (MAC) layer, radio link control (RLC) layer, packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, radio resource control (RRC) layer, and service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) layer). The one or more processors 102 and 202 may generate one or more protocol data units (PDUs) and/or one or more service data unit (SDUs) according to the descriptions, functions, procedures, suggestions, methods and/or operational flowcharts disclosed in the present disclosure. The one or more processors 102 and 202 may generate messages, control information, data, or information according to the descriptions, functions, procedures, suggestions, methods and/or operational flowcharts disclosed in the present disclosure. The one or more processors 102 and 202 may generate signals (e.g., baseband signals) including PDUs, SDUs, messages, control information, data, or information according to the descriptions, functions, procedures, suggestions, methods and/or operational flowcharts disclosed in the present disclosure and provide the generated signals to the one or more transceivers 106 and 206. The one or more processors 102 and 202 may receive the signals (e.g., baseband signals) from the one or more transceivers 106 and 206 and acquire the PDUs, SDUs, messages, control information, data, or information according to the descriptions, functions, procedures, suggestions, methods and/or operational flowcharts disclosed in the present disclosure.

The one or more processors 102 and 202 may be referred to as controllers, microcontrollers, microprocessors, or microcomputers. The one or more processors 102 and 202 may be implemented by hardware, firmware, software, or a combination thereof. As an example, one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), one or more digital signal processors (DSPs), one or more digital signal processing devices (DSPDs), one or more programmable logic devices (PLDs), or one or more field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) may be included in the one or more processors 102 and 202. descriptions, functions, procedures, suggestions, methods and/or operational flowcharts disclosed in the present disclosure may be implemented using firmware or software and the firmware or software may be configured to include the modules, procedures, or functions. Firmware or software configured to perform the descriptions, functions, procedures, suggestions, methods and/or operational flowcharts disclosed in the present disclosure may be included in the one or more processors 102 and 202 or stored in the one or more memories 104 and 204 so as to be driven by the one or more processors 102 and 202. The descriptions, functions, procedures, suggestions, methods and/or operational flowcharts disclosed in the present disclosure may be implemented using firmware or software in the form of code, commands, and/or a set of commands.

The one or more memories 104 and 204 may be connected to the one or more processors 102 and 202 and store various types of data, signals, messages, information, programs, code, instructions, and/or commands. The one or more memories 104 and 204 may be configured by read-only memories (ROMs), random access memories (RAMs), electrically erasable programmable read-only memories (EPROMs), flash memories, hard drives, registers, cash memories, computer-readable storage media, and/or combinations thereof. The one or more memories 104 and 204 may be located at the interior and/or exterior of the one or more processors 102 and 202. The one or more memories 104 and 204 may be connected to the one or more processors 102 and 202 through various technologies such as wired or wireless connection.

The one or more transceivers 106 and 206 may transmit user data, control information, and/or radio signals/channels, mentioned in the descriptions, functions, procedures, suggestions, methods and/or operational flowcharts disclosed in the present disclosure, to one or more other devices. The one or more transceivers 106 and 206 may receive user data, control information, and/or radio signals/channels, mentioned in the descriptions, functions, procedures, suggestions, methods and/or operational flowcharts disclosed in the present disclosure, from one or more other devices. For example, the one or more transceivers 106 and 206 may be connected to the one or more processors 102 and 202 and transmit and receive radio signals. For example, the one or more processors 102 and 202 may perform control so that the one or more transceivers 106 and 206 may transmit user data, control information, or radio signals to one or more other devices. The one or more processors 102 and 202 may perform control so that the one or more transceivers 106 and 206 may receive user data, control information, or radio signals from one or more other devices.

The one or more transceivers 106 and 206 may be connected to the one or more antennas 108 and 208 and the one or more transceivers 106 and 206 may be configured to transmit and receive user data, control information, and/or radio signals/channels, mentioned in the descriptions, functions, procedures, suggestions, methods and/or operational flowcharts disclosed in the present disclosure, through the one or more antennas 108 and 208. In the present disclosure, the one or more antennas may be a plurality of physical antennas or a plurality of logical antennas (e.g., antenna ports).

The one or more transceivers 106 and 206 may convert received radio signals/channels, etc., from RF band signals into baseband signals in order to process received user data, control information, radio signals/channels, etc., using the one or more processors 102 and 202. The one or more transceivers 106 and 206 may convert the user data, control information, radio signals/channels, etc., processed using the one or more processors 102 and 202 from the base band signals into the RF band signals. To this end, the one or more transceivers 106 and 206 may include (analog) oscillators and/or filters. For example, the transceivers 106 and 206 can up-convert OFDM baseband signals to a carrier frequency by their (analog) oscillators and/or filters under the control of the processors 102 and 202 and transmit the up-converted OFDM signals at the carrier frequency. The transceivers 106 and 206 may receive OFDM signals at a carrier frequency and down-convert the OFDM signals into OFDM baseband signals by their (analog) oscillators and/or filters under the control of the transceivers 102 and 202.

In the implementations of the present disclosure, a UE may operate as a transmitting device in uplink (UL) and as a receiving device in downlink (DL). In the implementations of the present disclosure, a BS may operate as a receiving device in UL and as a transmitting device in DL. Hereinafter, for convenience of description, it is mainly assumed that the first wireless device 100 acts as the UE, and the second wireless device 200 acts as the BS. For example, the processor(s) 102 connected to, mounted on or launched in the first wireless device 100 may be configured to perform the UE behavior according to an implementation of the present disclosure or control the transceiver(s) 106 to perform the UE behavior according to an implementation of the present disclosure. The processor(s) 202 connected to, mounted on or launched in the second wireless device 200 may be configured to perform the BS behavior according to an implementation of the present disclosure or control the transceiver(s) 206 to perform the BS behavior according to an implementation of the present disclosure.

In the present disclosure, a BS is also referred to as a node B (NB), an eNode B (eNB), or a gNB.

FIG. 3 shows an example of a wireless device to which implementations of the present disclosure is applied.

The wireless device may be implemented in various forms according to a use-case/service (refer to FIG. 1).

Referring to FIG. 3, wireless devices 100 and 200 may correspond to the wireless devices 100 and 200 of FIG. 2 and may be configured by various elements, components, units/portions, and/or modules. For example, each of the wireless devices 100 and 200 may include a communication unit 110, a control unit 120, a memory unit 130, and additional components 140. The communication unit 110 may include a communication circuit 112 and transceiver(s) 114. For example, the communication circuit 112 may include the one or more processors 102 and 202 of FIG. 2 and/or the one or more memories 104 and 204 of FIG. 2. For example, the transceiver(s) 114 may include the one or more transceivers 106 and 206 of FIG. 2 and/or the one or more antennas 108 and 208 of FIG. 2. The control unit 120 is electrically connected to the communication unit 110, the memory 130, and the additional components 140 and controls overall operation of each of the wireless devices 100 and 200. For example, the control unit 120 may control an electric/mechanical operation of each of the wireless devices 100 and 200 based on programs/code/commands/information stored in the memory unit 130. The control unit 120 may transmit the information stored in the memory unit 130 to the exterior (e.g., other communication devices) via the communication unit 110 through a wireless/wired interface or store, in the memory unit 130, information received through the wireless/wired interface from the exterior (e.g., other communication devices) via the communication unit 110.

The additional components 140 may be variously configured according to types of the wireless devices 100 and 200. For example, the additional components 140 may include at least one of a power unit/battery, input/output (I/O) unit (e.g., audio I/O port, video I/O port), a driving unit, and a computing unit. The wireless devices 100 and 200 may be implemented in the form of, without being limited to, the robot (100 a of FIG. 1), the vehicles (100 b-1 and 100 b-2 of FIG. 1), the XR device (100 c of FIG. 1), the hand-held device (100 d of FIG. 1), the home appliance (100 e of FIG. 1), the IoT device (100 f of FIG. 1), a digital broadcast terminal, a hologram device, a public safety device, an MTC device, a medicine device, a FinTech device (or a finance device), a security device, a climate/environment device, the AI server/device (400 of FIG. 1), the BSs (200 of FIG. 1), a network node, etc. The wireless devices 100 and 200 may be used in a mobile or fixed place according to a use-example/service.

In FIG. 3, the entirety of the various elements, components, units/portions, and/or modules in the wireless devices 100 and 200 may be connected to each other through a wired interface or at least a part thereof may be wirelessly connected through the communication unit 110. For example, in each of the wireless devices 100 and 200, the control unit 120 and the communication unit 110 may be connected by wire and the control unit 120 and first units (e.g., 130 and 140) may be wirelessly connected through the communication unit 110. Each element, component, unit/portion, and/or module within the wireless devices 100 and 200 may further include one or more elements. For example, the control unit 120 may be configured by a set of one or more processors. As an example, the control unit 120 may be configured by a set of a communication control processor, an application processor (AP), an electronic control unit (ECU), a graphical processing unit, and a memory control processor. As another example, the memory 130 may be configured by a RAM, a DRAM, a ROM, a flash memory, a volatile memory, a non-volatile memory, and/or a combination thereof.

FIG. 4 shows another example of wireless devices to which implementations of the present disclosure is applied.

Referring to FIG. 4, wireless devices 100 and 200 may correspond to the wireless devices 100 and 200 of FIG. 2 and may be configured by various elements, components, units/portions, and/or modules.

The first wireless device 100 may include at least one transceiver, such as a transceiver 106, and at least one processing chip, such as a processing chip 101. The processing chip 101 may include at least one processor, such a processor 102, and at least one memory, such as a memory 104. The memory 104 may be operably connectable to the processor 102. The memory 104 may store various types of information and/or instructions. The memory 104 may store a software code 105 which implements instructions that, when executed by the processor 102, perform the descriptions, functions, procedures, suggestions, methods and/or operational flowcharts disclosed in the present disclosure. For example, the software code 105 may implement instructions that, when executed by the processor 102, perform the descriptions, functions, procedures, suggestions, methods and/or operational flowcharts disclosed in the present disclosure. For example, the software code 105 may control the processor 102 to perform one or more protocols. For example, the software code 105 may control the processor 102 may perform one or more layers of the radio interface protocol.

The second wireless device 200 may include at least one transceiver, such as a transceiver 206, and at least one processing chip, such as a processing chip 201. The processing chip 201 may include at least one processor, such a processor 202, and at least one memory, such as a memory 204. The memory 204 may be operably connectable to the processor 202. The memory 204 may store various types of information and/or instructions. The memory 204 may store a software code 205 which implements instructions that, when executed by the processor 202, perform the descriptions, functions, procedures, suggestions, methods and/or operational flowcharts disclosed in the present disclosure. For example, the software code 205 may implement instructions that, when executed by the processor 202, perform the descriptions, functions, procedures, suggestions, methods and/or operational flowcharts disclosed in the present disclosure. For example, the software code 205 may control the processor 202 to perform one or more protocols. For example, the software code 205 may control the processor 202 may perform one or more layers of the radio interface protocol.

FIG. 5 shows an example of UE to which implementations of the present disclosure is applied.

Referring to FIG. 5, a UE 100 may correspond to the first wireless device 100 of FIG. 2 and/or the first wireless device 100 of FIG. 4.

A UE 100 includes a processor 102, a memory 104, a transceiver 106, one or more antennas 108, a power management module 110, a battery 1112, a display 114, a keypad 116, a subscriber identification module (SIM) card 118, a speaker 120, and a microphone 122.

The processor 102 may be configured to implement the descriptions, functions, procedures, suggestions, methods and/or operational flowcharts disclosed in the present disclosure. The processor 102 may be configured to control one or more other components of the UE 100 to implement the descriptions, functions, procedures, suggestions, methods and/or operational flowcharts disclosed in the present disclosure. Layers of the radio interface protocol may be implemented in the processor 102. The processor 102 may include ASIC, other chipset, logic circuit and/or data processing device. The processor 102 may be an application processor. The processor 102 may include at least one of a digital signal processor (DSP), a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), a modem (modulator and demodulator). An example of the processor 102 may be found in SNAPDRAGON™ series of processors made by Qualcomm®, EXYNOS' series of processors made by Samsung®, A series of processors made by Apple®, HELIO™ series of processors made by MediaTek®, ATOM™ series of processors made by Intel® or a corresponding next generation processor.

The memory 104 is operatively coupled with the processor 102 and stores a variety of information to operate the processor 102. The memory 104 may include ROM, RAM, flash memory, memory card, storage medium and/or other storage device. When the embodiments are implemented in software, the techniques described herein can be implemented with modules (e.g., procedures, functions, etc.) that perform the descriptions, functions, procedures, suggestions, methods and/or operational flowcharts disclosed in the present disclosure. The modules can be stored in the memory 104 and executed by the processor 102. The memory 104 can be implemented within the processor 102 or external to the processor 102 in which case those can be communicatively coupled to the processor 102 via various means as is known in the art.

The transceiver 106 is operatively coupled with the processor 102, and transmits and/or receives a radio signal. The transceiver 106 includes a transmitter and a receiver. The transceiver 106 may include baseband circuitry to process radio frequency signals. The transceiver 106 controls the one or more antennas 108 to transmit and/or receive a radio signal.

The power management module 110 manages power for the processor 102 and/or the transceiver 106. The battery 112 supplies power to the power management module 110.

The display 114 outputs results processed by the processor 102. The keypad 116 receives inputs to be used by the processor 102. The keypad 16 may be shown on the display 114.

The SIM card 118 is an integrated circuit that is intended to securely store the international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI) number and its related key, which are used to identify and authenticate subscribers on mobile telephony devices (such as mobile phones and computers). It is also possible to store contact information on many SIM cards.

The speaker 120 outputs sound-related results processed by the processor 102. The microphone 122 receives sound-related inputs to be used by the processor 102.

FIGS. 6 and 7 show an example of protocol stacks in a 3GPP based wireless communication system to which implementations of the present disclosure is applied.

In particular, FIG. 6 illustrates an example of a radio interface user plane protocol stack between a UE and a BS and FIG. 7 illustrates an example of a radio interface control plane protocol stack between a UE and a BS. The control plane refers to a path through which control messages used to manage call by a UE and a network are transported. The user plane refers to a path through which data generated in an application layer, for example, voice data or Internet packet data are transported. Referring to FIG. 6, the user plane protocol stack may be divided into Layer 1 (i.e., a PHY layer) and Layer 2. Referring to FIG. 7, the control plane protocol stack may be divided into Layer 1 (i.e., a PHY layer), Layer 2, Layer 3 (e.g., an RRC layer), and a non-access stratum (NAS) layer. Layer 1, Layer 2 and Layer 3 are referred to as an access stratum (AS).

In the 3GPP LTE system, the Layer 2 is split into the following sublayers: MAC, RLC, and PDCP. In the 3GPP NR system, the Layer 2 is split into the following sublayers: MAC, RLC, PDCP and SDAP. The PHY layer offers to the MAC sublayer transport channels, the MAC sublayer offers to the RLC sublayer logical channels, the RLC sublayer offers to the PDCP sublayer RLC channels, the PDCP sublayer offers to the SDAP sublayer radio bearers. The SDAP sublayer offers to 5G core network quality of service (QoS) flows.

In the 3GPP NR system, the main services and functions of the MAC sublayer include: mapping between logical channels and transport channels; multiplexing/de-multiplexing of MAC SDUs belonging to one or different logical channels into/from transport blocks (TB) delivered to/from the physical layer on transport channels; scheduling information reporting; error correction through hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) (one HARQ entity per cell in case of carrier aggregation (CA)); priority handling between UEs by means of dynamic scheduling; priority handling between logical channels of one UE by means of logical channel prioritization; padding. A single MAC entity may support multiple numerologies, transmission timings and cells. Mapping restrictions in logical channel prioritization control which numerology(ies), cell(s), and transmission timing(s) a logical channel can use.

Different kinds of data transfer services are offered by MAC. To accommodate different kinds of data transfer services, multiple types of logical channels are defined, i.e., each supporting transfer of a particular type of information. Each logical channel type is defined by what type of information is transferred. Logical channels are classified into two groups: control channels and traffic channels. Control channels are used for the transfer of control plane information only, and traffic channels are used for the transfer of user plane information only. Broadcast control channel (BCCH) is a downlink logical channel for broadcasting system control information, paging control channel (PCCH) is a downlink logical channel that transfers paging information, system information change notifications and indications of ongoing public warning service (PWS) broadcasts, common control channel (CCCH) is a logical channel for transmitting control information between UEs and network and used for UEs having no RRC connection with the network, and dedicated control channel (DCCH) is a point-to-point bi-directional logical channel that transmits dedicated control information between a UE and the network and used by UEs having an RRC connection. Dedicated traffic channel (DTCH) is a point-to-point logical channel, dedicated to one UE, for the transfer of user information. A DTCH can exist in both uplink and downlink. In downlink, the following connections between logical channels and transport channels exist: BCCH can be mapped to broadcast channel (BCH); BCCH can be mapped to downlink shared channel (DL-SCH); PCCH can be mapped to paging channel (PCH); CCCH can be mapped to DL-SCH; DCCH can be mapped to DL-SCH; and DTCH can be mapped to DL-SCH. In uplink, the following connections between logical channels and transport channels exist: CCCH can be mapped to uplink shared channel (UL-SCH); DCCH can be mapped to UL-SCH; and DTCH can be mapped to UL-SCH.

The RLC sublayer supports three transmission modes: transparent mode (TM), unacknowledged mode (UM), and acknowledged node (AM). The RLC configuration is per logical channel with no dependency on numerologies and/or transmission durations. In the 3GPP NR system, the main services and functions of the RLC sublayer depend on the transmission mode and include: transfer of upper layer PDUs; sequence numbering independent of the one in PDCP (UM and AM); error correction through ARQ (AM only); segmentation (AM and UM) and re-segmentation (AM only) of RLC SDUs; reassembly of SDU (AM and UM); duplicate detection (AM only); RLC SDU discard (AM and UM); RLC re-establishment; protocol error detection (AM only).

In the 3GPP NR system, the main services and functions of the PDCP sublayer for the user plane include: sequence numbering; header compression and decompression using robust header compression (ROHC); transfer of user data; reordering and duplicate detection; in-order delivery; PDCP PDU routing (in case of split bearers); retransmission of PDCP SDUs; ciphering, deciphering and integrity protection; PDCP SDU discard; PDCP re-establishment and data recovery for RLC AM; PDCP status reporting for RLC AM; duplication of PDCP PDUs and duplicate discard indication to lower layers. The main services and functions of the PDCP sublayer for the control plane include: sequence numbering; ciphering, deciphering and integrity protection; transfer of control plane data; reordering and duplicate detection; in-order delivery; duplication of PDCP PDUs and duplicate discard indication to lower layers.

In the 3GPP NR system, the main services and functions of SDAP include: mapping between a QoS flow and a data radio bearer; marking QoS flow ID (QFI) in both DL and UL packets. A single protocol entity of SDAP is configured for each individual PDU session.

In the 3GPP NR system, the main services and functions of the RRC sublayer include: broadcast of system information related to AS and NAS; paging initiated by 5GC or NG-RAN; establishment, maintenance and release of an RRC connection between the UE and NG-RAN; security functions including key management; establishment, configuration, maintenance and release of signaling radio bearers (SRBs) and data radio bearers (DRBs); mobility functions (including: handover and context transfer, UE cell selection and reselection and control of cell selection and reselection, inter-RAT mobility); QoS management functions; UE measurement reporting and control of the reporting; detection of and recovery from radio link failure; NAS message transfer to/from NAS from/to UE.

FIG. 8 shows a frame structure in a 3GPP based wireless communication system to which implementations of the present disclosure is applied.

The frame structure shown in FIG. 8 is purely exemplary and the number of subframes, the number of slots, and/or the number of symbols in a frame may be variously changed. In the 3GPP based wireless communication system, OFDM numerologies (e.g., subcarrier spacing (SCS), transmission time interval (TTI) duration) may be differently configured between a plurality of cells aggregated for one UE. For example, if a UE is configured with different SCSs for cells aggregated for the cell, an (absolute time) duration of a time resource (e.g., a subframe, a slot, or a TTI) including the same number of symbols may be different among the aggregated cells. Herein, symbols may include OFDM symbols (or CP-OFDM symbols), SC-FDMA symbols (or discrete Fourier transform-spread-OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM) symbols).

Referring to FIG. 8, downlink and uplink transmissions are organized into frames. Each frame has T_(f)=10 ms duration. Each frame is divided into two half-frames, where each of the half-frames has 5 ms duration. Each half-frame consists of 5 subframes, where the duration T_(sf) per subframe is 1 ms. Each subframe is divided into slots and the number of slots in a subframe depends on a subcarrier spacing. Each slot includes 14 or 12 OFDM symbols based on a cyclic prefix (CP). In a normal CP, each slot includes 14 OFDM symbols and, in an extended CP, each slot includes 12 OFDM symbols. The numerology is based on exponentially scalable subcarrier spacing Δf=2^(u)*15 kHz.

Table 1 shows the number of OFDM symbols per slot N^(slot) _(symb), the number of slots per frame N^(frame,u) _(slot), and the number of slots per subframe N^(subframe,u) _(slot) for the normal CP, according to the subcarrier spacing Δf=2^(u)*15 kHz.

TABLE 1 u N^(slot) _(symb) N^(frame, u) _(slot) N^(subframe, u) _(slot) 0 14 10 1 1 14 20 2 2 14 40 4 3 14 80 8 4 14 160 16

Table 2 shows the number of OFDM symbols per slot N^(slot) _(symb), the number of slots per frame N^(frame,u) _(slot), and the number of slots per subframe N^(subframe,u) _(slot) for the extended CP, according to the subcarrier spacing Δf=2^(u)*15 kHz.

TABLE 2 u N^(slot) _(symb) N^(frame, u) _(slot) N^(subframe, u) _(slot) 2 12 40 4

A slot includes plural symbols (e.g., 14 or 12 symbols) in the time domain. For each numerology (e.g., subcarrier spacing) and carrier, a resource grid of N^(size,u) _(grid,x)*N^(RB) _(sc) subcarriers and N^(subframe,u) _(symb) OFDM symbols is defined, starting at common resource block (CRB) N^(start,u) _(grid) indicated by higher-layer signaling (e.g., RRC signaling), where N^(size,u) _(grid,x) is the number of resource blocks (RBs) in the resource grid and the subscript x is DL for downlink and UL for uplink. N^(RB) _(sc) is the number of subcarriers per RB. In the 3GPP based wireless communication system, N^(RB) _(sc) is 12 generally. There is one resource grid for a given antenna port p, subcarrier spacing configuration u, and transmission direction (DL or UL). The carrier bandwidth N^(size,u) _(grid) for subcarrier spacing configuration u is given by the higher-layer parameter (e.g., RRC parameter). Each element in the resource grid for the antenna port p and the subcarrier spacing configuration u is referred to as a resource element (RE) and one complex symbol may be mapped to each RE. Each RE in the resource grid is uniquely identified by an index k in the frequency domain and an index l representing a symbol location relative to a reference point in the time domain. In the 3GPP based wireless communication system, an RB is defined by 12 consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain.

In the 3GPP NR system, RBs are classified into CRBs and physical resource blocks (PRBs). CRBs are numbered from 0 and upwards in the frequency domain for subcarrier spacing configuration u. The center of subcarrier 0 of CRB 0 for subcarrier spacing configuration u coincides with ‘point A’ which serves as a common reference point for resource block grids. In the 3GPP NR system, PRBs are defined within a bandwidth part (BWP) and numbered from 0 to N^(size) _(BWP,i)−1, where i is the number of the bandwidth part. The relation between the physical resource block n_(PRB) in the bandwidth part i and the common resource block n_(CRB) is as follows: n_(PRB)=n_(CRB)+N^(size) _(BWP,i), where N^(size) _(BWP,i) is the common resource block where bandwidth part starts relative to CRB 0. The BWP includes a plurality of consecutive RBs. A carrier may include a maximum of N (e.g., 5) BWPs. A UE may be configured with one or more BWPs on a given component carrier. Only one BWP among BWPs configured to the UE can active at a time. The active BWP defines the UE's operating bandwidth within the cell's operating bandwidth.

The NR frequency band may be defined as two types of frequency range, i.e., FR1 and FR2. The numerical value of the frequency range may be changed. For example, the frequency ranges of the two types (FR1 and FR2) may be as shown in Table 3 below. For ease of explanation, in the frequency ranges used in the NR system, FR1 may mean “sub 6 GHz range”, FR2 may mean “above 6 GHz range,” and may be referred to as millimeter wave (mmW).

TABLE 3 Frequency Range Corresponding frequency Subcarrier designation range Spacing FR1  450 MHz-6000 MHz 15, 30, 60 kHz FR2 24250 MHz-52600 MHz 60, 120, 240 kHz

As mentioned above, the numerical value of the frequency range of the NR system may be changed. For example, FR1 may include a frequency band of 410 MHz to 7125 MHz as shown in Table 4 below. That is, FR1 may include a frequency band of 6 GHz (or 5850, 5900, 5925 MHz, etc.) or more. For example, a frequency band of 6 GHz (or 5850, 5900, 5925 MHz, etc.) or more included in FR1 may include an unlicensed band. Unlicensed bands may be used for a variety of purposes, for example for communication for vehicles (e.g., autonomous driving).

TABLE 4 Frequency Range Corresponding frequency Subcarrier designation range Spacing FR1  410 MHz-7125 MHz 15, 30, 60 kHz FR2 24250 MHz-52600 MHz 60, 120, 240 kHz

In the present disclosure, the term “cell” may refer to a geographic area to which one or more nodes provide a communication system, or refer to radio resources. A “cell” as a geographic area may be understood as coverage within which a node can provide service using a carrier and a “cell” as radio resources (e.g., time-frequency resources) is associated with bandwidth which is a frequency range configured by the carrier. The “cell” associated with the radio resources is defined by a combination of downlink resources and uplink resources, for example, a combination of a DL component carrier (CC) and a UL CC. The cell may be configured by downlink resources only, or may be configured by downlink resources and uplink resources. Since DL coverage, which is a range within which the node is capable of transmitting a valid signal, and UL coverage, which is a range within which the node is capable of receiving the valid signal from the UE, depends upon a carrier carrying the signal, the coverage of the node may be associated with coverage of the “cell” of radio resources used by the node. Accordingly, the term “cell” may be used to represent service coverage of the node sometimes, radio resources at other times, or a range that signals using the radio resources can reach with valid strength at other times.

In CA, two or more CCs are aggregated. A UE may simultaneously receive or transmit on one or multiple CCs depending on its capabilities. CA is supported for both contiguous and non-contiguous CCs. When CA is configured, the UE only has one RRC connection with the network. At RRC connection establishment/re-establishment/handover, one serving cell provides the NAS mobility information, and at RRC connection re-establishment/handover, one serving cell provides the security input. This cell is referred to as the primary cell (PCell). The PCell is a cell, operating on the primary frequency, in which the UE either performs the initial connection establishment procedure or initiates the connection re-establishment procedure. Depending on UE capabilities, secondary cells (SCells) can be configured to form together with the PCell a set of serving cells. An SCell is a cell providing additional radio resources on top of special cell (SpCell). The configured set of serving cells for a UE therefore always consists of one PCell and one or more SCells. For dual connectivity (DC) operation, the term SpCell refers to the PCell of the master cell group (MCG) or the primary SCell (PSCell) of the secondary cell group (SCG). An SpCell supports PUCCH transmission and contention-based random access, and is always activated. The MCG is a group of serving cells associated with a master node, comprised of the SpCell (PCell) and optionally one or more SCells. The SCG is the subset of serving cells associated with a secondary node, comprised of the PSCell and zero or more SCells, for a UE configured with DC. For a UE in RRC_CONNECTED not configured with CA/DC, there is only one serving cell comprised of the PCell. For a UE in RRC_CONNECTED configured with CA/DC, the term “serving cells” is used to denote the set of cells comprised of the SpCell(s) and all SCells. In DC, two MAC entities are configured in a UE: one for the MCG and one for the SCG.

FIG. 9 shows a data flow example in the 3GPP NR system to which implementations of the present disclosure is applied.

Referring to FIG. 9, “RB” denotes a radio bearer, and “H” denotes a header. Radio bearers are categorized into two groups: DRBs for user plane data and SRBs for control plane data. The MAC PDU is transmitted/received using radio resources through the PHY layer to/from an external device. The MAC PDU arrives to the PHY layer in the form of a transport block.

In the PHY layer, the uplink transport channels UL-SCH and RACH are mapped to their physical channels physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) and physical random access channel (PRACH), respectively, and the downlink transport channels DL-SCH, BCH and PCH are mapped to physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), physical broadcast channel (PBCH) and PDSCH, respectively. In the PHY layer, uplink control information (UCI) is mapped to physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), and downlink control information (DCI) is mapped to physical downlink control channel (PDCCH). A MAC PDU related to UL-SCH is transmitted by a UE via a PUSCH based on an UL grant, and a MAC PDU related to DL-SCH is transmitted by a BS via a PDSCH based on a DL assignment.

An RRC state indicates whether an RRC layer of the UE is logically connected to an RRC layer of the E-UTRAN. In LTE/LTE-A, when the RRC connection is established between the RRC layer of the UE and the RRC layer of the E-UTRAN, the UE is in the RRC connected state (RRC_CONNECTED). Otherwise, the UE is in the RRC idle state (RRC_IDLE). In NR, the RRC inactive state (RRC_INACTIVE) is additionally introduced. RRC_INACTIVE may be used for various purposes. For example, the massive machine type communications (MMTC) UEs can be efficiently managed in RRC_INACTIVE. When a specific condition is satisfied, transition is made from one of the above three states to the other.

A predetermined operation may be performed according to the RRC state. In RRC_IDLE, public land mobile network (PLMN) selection, broadcast of system information (SI), cell re-selection mobility, core network (CN) paging and discontinuous reception (DRX) configured by NAS may be performed. The UE shall have been allocated an identifier (ID) which uniquely identifies the UE in a tracking area. No RRC context stored in the BS.

In RRC_CONNECTED, the UE has an RRC connection with the network (i.e., E-UTRAN/NG-RAN). Network-CN connection (both C/U-planes) is also established for UE. The UE AS context is stored in the network and the UE. The RAN knows the cell which the UE belongs to. The network can transmit and/or receive data to/from UE. Network controlled mobility including measurement is also performed.

Most of operations performed in RRC_IDLE may be performed in RRC_INACTIVE. But, instead of CN paging in RRC_IDLE, RAN paging is performed in RRC_INACTIVE. In other words, in RRC_IDLE, paging for mobile terminated (MT) data is initiated by core network and paging area is managed by core network. In RRC_INACTIVE, paging is initiated by NG-RAN, and RAN-based notification area (RNA) is managed by NG-RAN. Further, instead of DRX for CN paging configured by NAS in RRC_IDLE, DRX for RAN paging is configured by NG-RAN in RRC_INACTIVE. Meanwhile, in RRC_INACTIVE, 5GC-NG-RAN connection (both C/U-planes) is established for UE, and the UE AS context is stored in NG-RAN and the UE. NG-RAN knows the RNA which the UE belongs to.

Preconfigured uplink resource (PUR) is designed for NB-IoT and MTC networks in order to save power consumption for data transmission. The network may configure PUR for predictable traffic patterns to a UE in an idle state (e.g., RRC_IDLE) and/or an inactive state (e.g., RRC_INACTIVE). The UE may transmit UL data in RRC_IDLE and/or RRC_INACTIVE without random access procedure and/or state transition to a connected state (e.g., RRC_CONNECTED).

Regarding transmission using PUR, the followings have been agreed.

-   -   Transmission in dedicated PUR in RRC_IDLE is supported for UEs         with a valid timing advance.     -   The eNB can (re)configure and release dedicated PUR by dedicated         RRC signaling.     -   Periodic dedicated PUR with duration is supported.     -   Multi-shot dedicated PUR is supported with the possibility to         configure as a single shot.     -   UE may perform a dedicated PUR request/information, if dedicated         PUR is indicated as enabled in the cell.     -   Network makes the decision on the dedicated PUR configuration.     -   Request/information can include: Requested transport block size         (TBS) and Requested periodicity     -   Dedicated PUR configuration may be released when the eNB doesn't         detect “m” consecutive UE transmissions.     -   The UE must release the dedicated PUR when it does a random         access procedure on a new cell.     -   Dedicated PUR configuration can be set up without a pre-defined         end (infinite).     -   It is possible to configure TBS for dedicated PUR for both         NB-IoT and eMTC up to the maximum supported based on the UE         category and TBS capability.     -   For user plane, the UE may transmit dedicated PUR release         request/(re)configuration request when transmitting using         dedicated PUR.     -   RRC response message needs to be supported by the UE and could         be used in all cases.     -   For some cases, L1 signaling is sufficient to acknowledge, i.e.,         RRC response message is not needed.     -   The L1 signaling for acknowledgement may be sent only after the         eNB determines there is no pending DL data or signaling.     -   The configuration for dedicated PUR provided by RRC signaling         may not be updated via L1 signaling.     -   It is feasible to provide the UE with a UE-specific radio         network temporary identifier (RNTI) for dedicated PUR. Common or         shared RNTI is also feasible.     -   The RNTI used for D-PUR is signaled together with other         dedicated PUR configuration.

As described below, the current PUR design may always require to monitor PDCCH.

When DL information is to be delivered on PDSCH, the UE may first monitor PDCCH to acquire PDSCH scheduling information. Then, the UE may receive the DL information via PDSCH scheduled by the PDCCH.

FIG. 10 shows an example of a general procedure for transmission using PUR.

(1) The network configures PUR to the UE.

(2) The UE transmits UL data using PUR in RRC_IDLE and/or RRC_INACTIVE.

(3) The UE receives an acknowledgement for UL data transmission using PUR.

In order to receive the acknowledgement for UL data transmission using PUR, the UE would monitor PDCCH. Then, if further information such as timing advance command (TAC) MAC control element (CE) is to be delivered on PDSCH, the UE may monitor PDSCH using the scheduling information in PDCCH.

FIG. 11 shows another example of a general procedure for transmission using PUR.

(1) The UE transmits UL data using PUR in RRC_IDLE and/or RRC_INACTIVE.

(2) The UE monitors PDCCH. The PDCCH may carry scheduling information for PDSCH. The PDCCH may carry acknowledgement for UL data transmission using PUR via L1 signaling.

(3) The UE acquires DL data/information on PDSDH which is scheduled by the scheduling information in PDCCH. The DL data/information may include acknowledgement for UL data transmission using PUR via RRC signaling. The DL data/information may further include TAC MAC CE, etc.

In summary, after transmitting UL data using PUR, the UE may determine completion of the UL data transmission based on acknowledgement for UL data transmission using PUR.

The acknowledgement for UL data transmission using PUR may be L1 signaling acknowledgement received via PDCCH. The UE may determine that the UL data transmission using PUR is successful upon receiving the L1 signaling acknowledgement via PDCCH, and the procedure for the UL data transmission using PUR may be considered as completed without monitoring PDSCH.

Alternatively, the acknowledgement for UL data transmission using PUR may be L3 signaling acknowledgement received via PDSCH. The UE may first monitor PDCCH which schedules PDSCH, and may receive the acknowledgement for UL data transmission using PUR via PDSCH. The UE may determine that the UL data transmission using PUR is successful upon receiving the L3 signaling acknowledgement via PDSCH, and the procedure for the UL data transmission using PUR may be considered as completed.

Meanwhile, as the configuration related to PUR may be maintained for a long period of time, updating UL timing is important to avoid data transmission failures due to unsynchronized UL transmission and to save power. In some cases, even though the UE receives L1 signaling acknowledgement via PDCCH for determining completion of the procedure for the UL data transmission using PUR, if the UE requires uplink timing alignment, the UE may receive TAC MAC CE via PDSCH for uplink timing alignment. The procedure for the UL data transmission using PUR can end after receiving the TAC MAC CE.

Therefore, a method for completing a procedure for UL data transmission using PUR with TAC MAC CE may be required. Furthermore, for some cases, it may be beneficial if the UE directly acquire DL information on PDSCH without monitoring PDCCH to reduce power consumption and quickly acquire the DL information on PDSCH.

The following drawings are created to explain specific embodiments of the present disclosure. The names of the specific devices or the names of the specific signals/messages/fields shown in the drawings are provided by way of example, and thus the technical features of the present disclosure are not limited to the specific names used in the following drawings.

FIG. 12 shows an example of a method performed by a wireless device configured to operate in a wireless communication system to which implementations of the present disclosure is applied.

In step S1200, the wireless device receives, from a network, a configuration of PUR.

In some implementations, the configuration of PUR may be received via dedicated RRC signaling or L2 signaling (i.e., MAC CE) or L1 signaling (i.e., DCI). The configuration of PUR may be received in RRC_CONNECTED or RRC_IDLE or RRC_INACTIVE.

In some implementations, the configuration of PUR may further include information on DL transmission associated with UL data transmission using the PUR. The information on the DL transmission may include at least one of the DL grant and/or DL assignment. The information on the DL transmission may include DL reception time, the number of slots per radio frame, subframe intervals, etc. The DL reception time may be absolute time or the associated time with UL data transmission.

In step S1210, while in RRC idle state and/or RRC inactive state, the wireless device i) performs UL data transmission using the PUR to the network, ii) attempts to acquire DL information on PDSCH from the network, and iii) based on the DL information including only TAC MAC CE, considers that the UL data transmission using the PUR is successful.

In some implementations, the DL information including only the TAC MAC CE may be considered as an acknowledgement for the UL data transmission.

In some implementations, the TAC MAC CE may consist of a single octet including a timing advance group (TAG) identity field and a TAC field.

In some implementations, the wireless device may further indicate to an upper layer of the wireless device that the UL data transmission using the PUR is successful.

In some implementations, the DL information may be scheduled by scheduling information received from the network. The scheduling information may be received via the configuration of the PUR. The scheduling information may be received via L1 signaling, L2 signaling, broadcast signaling or dedicated RRC signaling. The scheduling information may include time information regarding the UL data transmission. The scheduling information may include scheduling parameters for the PDSCH, comprising at least one of SFN, a number of slots per radio frame, a slot number in a frame for the PDSCH, a starting point of the radio frame for the PDSCH, a starting PRB of PDSCH, and/or a number of subframes indicating an interval after the UL data transmission using the PUR.

In some implementations, PDCCH may not be monitored for acquiring the DL information.

In some implementations, based on the DL information not being acquired and/or the DL information indicating that the UL data transmission using the PUR has failed, the wireless device may perform a PUR transmission failure procedure. For example, it may be determined that the DL information is not acquired based on expiry of a timer without acquiring any DL information. The timer may start upon performing the UL data transmission using the PUR to the network. For example, it may be determined that the DL information is not acquired based on no information being acquired during a certain number of subframes.

In some implementations, the wireless device may be in communication with at least one of a mobile device, a network, and/or autonomous vehicles other than the wireless device.

Furthermore, the method in perspective of the wireless device described above in FIG. 12 may be performed by first wireless device 100 shown in FIG. 2, the wireless device 100 shown in FIG. 3, the first wireless device 100 shown in FIG. 4 and/or the UE 100 shown in FIG. 5.

More specifically, the wireless device comprises at least one transceiver, at least processor, and at least one computer memory operably connectable to the at least one processor and storing instructions that, based on being executed by the at least one processor, perform operations.

The operations comprise receiving, from a network, a configuration of PUR.

In some implementations, the configuration of PUR may be received via dedicated RRC signaling or L2 signaling (i.e., MAC CE) or L1 signaling (i.e., DCI). The configuration of PUR may be received in RRC_CONNECTED or RRC_IDLE or RRC_INACTIVE.

In some implementations, the configuration of PUR may further include information on DL transmission associated with UL data transmission using the PUR. The information on the DL transmission may include at least one of the DL grant and/or DL assignment. The information on the DL transmission may include DL reception time, the number of slots per radio frame, subframe intervals, etc. The DL reception time may be absolute time or the associated time with UL data transmission.

The operations comprise, while in RRC idle state and/or RRC inactive state, i) performing UL data transmission using the PUR to the network, ii) attempting to acquire DL information on PDSCH from the network, and iii) based on the DL information including only TAC MAC CE, considering that the UL data transmission using the PUR is successful.

In some implementations, the DL information including only the TAC MAC CE may be considered as an acknowledgement for the UL data transmission.

In some implementations, the TAC MAC CE may consist of a single octet including a TAG identity field and a TAC field.

In some implementations, the operations may further comprise indicating to an upper layer of the wireless device that the UL data transmission using the PUR is successful.

In some implementations, the DL information may be scheduled by scheduling information received from the network. The scheduling information may be received via the configuration of the PUR. The scheduling information may be received via L1 signaling, L2 signaling, broadcast signaling or dedicated RRC signaling. The scheduling information may include time information regarding the UL data transmission. The scheduling information may include scheduling parameters for the PDSCH, comprising at least one of SFN, a number of slots per radio frame, a slot number in a frame for the PDSCH, a starting point of the radio frame for the PDSCH, a starting PRB of PDSCH, and/or a number of subframes indicating an interval after the UL data transmission using the PUR.

In some implementations, PDCCH may not be monitored for acquiring the DL information.

In some implementations, based on the DL information not being acquired and/or the DL information indicating that the UL data transmission using the PUR has failed, the wireless device may perform a PUR transmission failure procedure. For example, it may be determined that the DL information is not acquired based on expiry of a timer without acquiring any DL information. The timer may start upon performing the UL data transmission using the PUR to the network. For example, it may be determined that the DL information is not acquired based on no information being acquired during a certain number of subframes.

Furthermore, the method in perspective of the wireless device described above in FIG. 12 may be performed by control of the processor 102 included in the first wireless device 100 shown in FIG. 2, by control of the communication unit 110 and/or the control unit 120 included in the wireless device 100 shown in FIG. 3, by control of the processor 102 included in the first wireless device 100 shown in FIG. 4 and/or by control of the processor 102 included in the UE 100 shown in FIG. 5.

More specifically, an apparatus for configured to operate in a wireless communication system (e.g., wireless device) comprises at least processor, and at least one computer memory operably connectable to the at least one processor. The at least one processor is configured to perform operations comprising acquiring a configuration of PUR, and while in RRC idle state and/or RRC inactive state, i) controlling the wireless device to perform UL data transmission using the PUR to the network, ii) attempting to acquire DL information on PDSCH from the network, and iii) based on the DL information including only TAC MAC CE, considering that the UL data transmission using the PUR is successful.

Furthermore, the method in perspective of the wireless device described above in FIG. 12 may be performed by a software code 105 stored in the memory 104 included in the first wireless device 100 shown in FIG. 4.

More specifically, at least one computer readable medium (CRM) stores instructions that, based on being executed by at least one processor, perform operations comprising acquiring a configuration of PUR, and while in RRC idle state and/or RRC inactive state, i) controlling the wireless device to perform UL data transmission using the PUR to the network, ii) attempting to acquire DL information on PDSCH from the network, and iii) based on the DL information including only TAC MAC CE, considering that the UL data transmission using the PUR is successful.

FIG. 13 shows an example of a method performed by a wireless device and a network node configured to operate in a wireless communication system to which implementations of the present disclosure is applied.

In step S1300, a network node transmits, to a wireless device, a configuration of PUR.

In some implementations, the configuration of PUR may be transmitted via dedicated RRC signaling or L2 signaling (i.e., MAC CE) or L1 signaling (i.e., DCI). The configuration of PUR may be received in RRC_CONNECTED or RRC_IDLE or RRC_INACTIVE.

In some implementations, the configuration of PUR may further include information on DL transmission associated with UL data transmission using the PUR. The information on the DL transmission may include at least one of the DL grant and/or DL assignment. The information on the DL transmission may include DL reception time, the number of slots per radio frame, subframe intervals, etc. The DL reception time may be absolute time or the associated time with UL data transmission.

In step S1310, while the wireless device is in RRC idle state and/or RRC inactive state, the network node receives UL data transmission using the PUR from the wireless device.

In step S1320, the network node transmits, to the wireless device, DL information including only TAC MAC CE.

In some implementations, the TAC MAC CE may consist of a single octet including a timing advance group (TAG) identity field and a TAC field.

In some implementations, the DL information may be scheduled by scheduling information transmitted to the wireless device. The scheduling information may be transmitted via the configuration of the PUR. The scheduling information may be transmitted via L1 signaling, L2 signaling, broadcast signaling or dedicated RRC signaling. The scheduling information may include time information regarding the UL data transmission. The scheduling information may include scheduling parameters for the PDSCH, comprising at least one of SFN, a number of slots per radio frame, a slot number in a frame for the PDSCH, a starting point of the radio frame for the PDSCH, a starting PRB of PDSCH, and/or a number of subframes indicating an interval after the UL data transmission using the PUR.

In step S1330, the wireless device considers that the UL data transmission using the PUR is successful based on the DL information including only the TAC MAC CE.

Furthermore, the method in perspective of the network node described above in FIG. 13 may be performed by the network node, which is represented by the second wireless device 100 shown in FIG. 2, the device 100 shown in FIG. 3, and/or the second wireless device 200 shown in FIG. 4.

More specifically, the network node comprises at least one transceiver, at least processor, and at least one computer memory operably connectable to the at least one processor and storing instructions that, based on being executed by the at least one processor, perform operations comprising transmitting, to a wireless device, a configuration of a PUR, and while the wireless device is in RRC idle state and/or an RRC inactive state, i) receiving, from the wireless device, UL data transmission using the PUR, and ii) transmitting, to the wireless device, DL information including only TAC MAC CE. The UL data transmission using the PUR is considered as successful based on the DL information including only the TAC MAC CE.

FIG. 14 shows an example of a method for acquiring DL information on PDSCH in RRC_IDLE and/or RRC_INACTIVE to which implementations of the present disclosure is applied.

In step S1400, the UE receives PUR configuration from the network.

In some implementations, the network may configure PUR via dedicated RRC signaling or L2 signaling (i.e., MAC CE) or L1 signaling (i.e., DCI) in RRC_CONNECTED or RRC_IDLE or RRC_INACTIVE.

In some implementations, the network may also configure DL transmission information associated with UL transmission using PUR. The DL transmission information may include at least one of the DL grant and/or DL assignment. The DL transmission information may include DL reception time, the number of slots per radio frame, subframe intervals, etc. The DL reception time may be the absolute time and/or the associated time with UL transmission.

In step S1410, the UE receives PDSCH scheduling information from the network.

In some implementations, the PDSCH scheduling information may be delivered with the PUR configuration.

In some implementations, the PDSCH scheduling information may be delivered via L1 signaling, L2 signaling, broadcast signaling and/or dedicated RRC signaling.

In some implementations, the PDSCH scheduling information may include absolute time and/or the associated time with UL transmission.

In some implementations, the PDSCH scheduling information may include scheduling parameters for PDSCH. The scheduling parameters for PDSCH may include at least one of SFN, the number of slots per radio frame, slot number in the frame, the starting point of radio frame for PDSCH, the starting PRB of PDSCH, and/or the number of subframes indicating the interval after transmission using PUR.

In some implementations, the UE may perform connection release procedure with the network. The UE may receive RRC release message from the network. Upon receiving the RRC release message, the UE may enter RRC_IDLE and/or RRC_INACTIVE.

In step S1420, the UE transmits UL data using PUR to the network.

In some implementations, the UE may start a timer upon transmitting UL data. The MAC layer or RRC layer of the UE may maintain the timer. Upon expiry of the timer without acquiring any DL information, the UE may consider the UL transmission using PUR has failed.

In step S1430, the UE attempts to acquire DL information on PDSCH.

In some implementations, the UE may refer the PDSCH scheduling information received in step S1410. In this case, the UE may not need to monitor PDCCH for acquiring DL information on PDSCH.

In some implementations, if the PDSCH scheduling information received in step S1410 is not available, the UE may monitor PDCCH for acquiring DL information on PDSCH.

In some implementations, the DL information may include at least one of acknowledgement of UL transmission, TAC MAC CE, coverage enhancement level, DL user data information, etc.

In some implementations, if the DL information includes TAC MAC CE and does not include acknowledgement of UL transmission, the UE may consider the UL transmission using PUR is successful. In other words, if the DL information only includes TAC MAC CE, the UE may consider that UL transmission using PUR is successful based on the DL information only including the TAC MAC CE.

FIG. 15 shows an example of TAC MAC CE to which implementations of the present disclosure is applied.

The TAC MAC CE is identified by MAC PDU subheader with logical channel ID (LCID).

The TAC MAC CE has a fixed size and consists of a single octet defined as follows:

-   -   TAG Identity (TAG Id): This field indicates the TAG Identity of         the addressed TAG. The TAG containing the SpCell has the TAG         Identity 0. The length of the field is 2 bits;     -   Timing Advance Command: This field indicates the index value         T_(A) (0, 1, 2 . . . 63) used to control the amount of timing         adjustment that MAC entity has to apply. The length of the field         is 6 bits.

FIG. 16 shows an example of TAC MAC CE including acknowledgement of UL transmission to which implementations of the present disclosure is applied.

The UE may receive TAC MAC CE including TAC. The TAC MAC CE may also include an acknowledgement bit (denoted as “A” in FIG. 16). If the acknowledgement field indicates the UL transmission using PUR has failed, the UE may apply UL timing advance and perform PUR transmission failure procedure.

FIG. 17 shows another example of TAC MAC CE including acknowledgement of UL transmission to which implementations of the present disclosure is applied.

The UE may receive TAC MAC CE including TAC. The TAC MAC CE may also include an acknowledgement field (denoted as “A” in FIG. 17), UE-specific RNTI and timing advance group identifier (TAG-ID). The UE may apply UL timing advance when the UE information matches the UE-specific RNTI or TAG-ID.

Back to FIG. 14, in step S1440, if the UE does not acquire any DL information on PDSCH and/or the DL information indicates that the UL transmission using PUR has failed, the UE performs PUR transmission failure procedure.

In some implementations, the UE may determine that no DL information has acquired on PDSCH by expiry of the timer which has started on UL transmission.

In some implementations, the UE may determine that no DL information has acquired if no information has acquired during a certain number of subframes.

FIG. 18 shows an example of transmission using PUR for the control plane cellular IoT (CIoT) evolved packet system (EPS)/5G system (5GS) optimizations to which implementations of the present disclosure is applied.

Transmission using PUR for control plane CIoT EPS optimization, and for control plane CIoT 5GS optimization is characterized as below:

-   -   UL user data are transmitted using the PUR resource in a NAS         message concatenated in RRCEarlyDataRequest message on CCCH;     -   If there is no downlink data, the (ng-)eNB may terminate the         procedure by sending a layer 1 acknowledgement optionally         containing a Time Advance Command, a MAC Time advance Command or         RRCEarlyDataComplete with no user data;     -   DL user data, if any, are transmitted in a NAS message         concatenated in RRCEarlyDataComplete message on CCCH;     -   There is no transition to RRC_CONNECTED.

In step S1800, the UE has determined that the PUR resource can be used (e.g., PUR enabled in the cell, valid time alignment, etc.).

In step S1810, the UE transmits RRCEarlyDataRequest message including UL user data in a NAS message (e.g., dedicatedInfoNas) over the PUR resource.

If the UL data are too large to be included in RRCEarlyDataRequest, the UE can use the PUR resource to transmit RRCConnectionRequest. The procedure will fall back to the legacy RRC connection establishment procedure, a new cell radio network temporary identity (C-RNTI) can be assigned.

After step S1810, the (ng-)eNB may request the UE to abort the transmission using PUR by sending a Layer 1 fallback indication.

In step S1820, the MO-EDT procedure for control plane CIoT EPS/5GS optimizations is performed.

In step S1830, if the (ng-)eNB is aware that there is no pending DL data or signaling, the (ng-)eNB can send a Layer 1 ACK optionally containing a Time Advance Adjustment to the UE to update the TA and terminate the procedure.

In step S1832, if the (ng-)eNB is aware that there is no further data or signaling, the (ng-)eNB can send a Time Advance Command to update the TA and terminate the procedure.

In step S1834, the (ng-)eNB may transmit RRCEarlyDataComplete message which may optionally including DL user data in a NAS message (e.g., dedicatedInfoNAS). A Time Advance Command can also be included.

If the MME/AMF or the (ng-)eNB decides to move the UE to RRC_CONNECTED mode, RRCConnectionSetup message is sent in steps S1830 to S1834 to fall back to the legacy RRC connection establishment procedure, a new C-RNTI can be assigned. The (ng-)eNB will discard the zero-length NAS PDU received in RRCConnectionSetupComplete message.

If none of Layer 1 Acknowledgement, MAC Time advance Command, RRCEarlyDataComplete and, in case of fallback, RRCConnectionSetup is received in response to RRCEarlyDataRequest, the UE considers the UL data transmission not successful.

In step S1840, S1/AN release procedure is performed.

FIG. 19 shows an example of transmission using PUR for the user plane CIoT EPS optimization to which implementations of the present disclosure is applied. FIG. 20 shows an example of transmission using PUR for the user plane CIoT 5GS optimization to which implementations of the present disclosure is applied.

Transmission using PUR for user plane CIoT EPS optimization, and for user plane CIoT 5GS optimization are characterized as below:

-   -   The UE is in RRC_IDLE and has a valid PUR resource;     -   The UE has been provided with a NextHopChainingCount in the         RRCConnectionRelease message with suspend indication;     -   UL user data are transmitted on DTCH multiplexed with         RRCConnectionResumeRequest message on CCCH;     -   DL user data are optionally transmitted on DTCH multiplexed with         RRCConnectionRelease message on DCCH;     -   The user data in UL and DL are ciphered. The keys are derived         using the NextHopChainingCount provided in the         RRCConnectionRelease message of the previous RRC connection;     -   The RRCConnectionRelease message is integrity protected and         ciphered using the newly derived keys;     -   There is no transition to RRC CONNECTED.

In steps S1900/S2000, the UE has validated the PUR resource according to the configured criteria.

In steps S1910/S2010, the UE transmits RRCConnectionResumeRequest message together with UL user data over the PUR resource.

If the user data are too large to be fully included in the transmission using PUR, the UE can use PUR to transmit RRCConnectionResumeRequest and a segment of the user data. The procedure will fall back to the legacy RRC Connection Resume procedure, and a new C-RNTI can be assigned.

After steps S1910/S2010, the (ng-)eNB may request the UE to abort the transmission using PUR by sending a Layer 1 fallback indication.

In steps S1920/S2020, MO-EDT procedure for user plane CIoT EPS/5GS optimizations is performed.

In step S1930/S2030, the (ng-)eNB may transmit RRCConnectionRelease message optionally together with DL user data. A Time Advance Command can also be included.

If the MME/AMF or the (ng-)eNB decides to move the UE to RRC_CONNECTED mode, RRCConnectionResume message is sent in steps S1930/S2030 to fall back to the RRC connection resume procedure. In that case, the RRCConnectionResume message is integrity protected and ciphered with the keys derived in steps S1900/S2000 and the UE ignores the NextHopChainingCount included in the RRCConnectionResume message. A new C-RNTI can be assigned. DL data can be transmitted on DTCH multiplexed with the RRCConnectionResume message. In addition, an RRCConnectionSetup can also be sent in steps S1930/S2030 to fall back to the RRC connection establishment procedure.

The present disclosure can have various advantageous effects.

For example, a UE can effectively determine whether UL data transmission using PUR is successful or not based on DL information. If the DL information includes only TAC MAC CE, the UE can consider that the UL data transmission using PUR is successful.

For example, a UE does not need to PDCCH and may directly acquire DL information on PDSCH. A network may configure PDSCH scheduling information with UL resource configuration. By skipping monitoring PDCCH, the UE can reduce power consumption to monitor PDCCH and may quickly acquire DL information.

Advantageous effects which can be obtained through specific embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to the advantageous effects listed above. For example, there may be a variety of technical effects that a person having ordinary skill in the related art can understand and/or derive from the present disclosure. Accordingly, the specific effects of the present disclosure are not limited to those explicitly described herein, but may include various effects that may be understood or derived from the technical features of the present disclosure.

Claims in the present disclosure can be combined in a various way. For instance, technical features in method claims of the present disclosure can be combined to be implemented or performed in an apparatus, and technical features in apparatus claims can be combined to be implemented or performed in a method. Further, technical features in method claim(s) and apparatus claim(s) can be combined to be implemented or performed in an apparatus. Further, technical features in method claim(s) and apparatus claim(s) can be combined to be implemented or performed in a method. Other implementations are within the scope of the following claims. 

1. A method performed by a wireless device configured to operate in a wireless communication system, the method comprising: receiving, from a network, a configuration of a preconfigured uplink resource (PUR); while in a radio resource control (RRC) idle state and/or an RRC inactive state: i) performing uplink (UL) data transmission using the PUR to the network; ii) attempting to acquire downlink (DL) information on a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) from the network; and iii) based on the DL information including a timing advance command (TAC) media access control (MAC) control element (CE) but not including an acknowledgement of the UL data transmission, considering that the UL data transmission using the PUR is successful.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the TAC MAC CE is considered as the acknowledgement of the UL data transmission.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the TAC MAC CE consists of a single octet including a timing advance group (TAG) identity field and a TAC field.
 4. The method of claim 1, further comprising indicating to an upper layer of the wireless device that the UL data transmission using the PUR is successful.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the DL information is scheduled by scheduling information received from the network.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the scheduling information is received via the configuration of the PUR.
 7. The method of claim 5, wherein the scheduling information is received via L1 signaling, L2 signaling, broadcast signaling or dedicated RRC signaling.
 8. The method of claim 5, wherein the scheduling information includes time information regarding the UL data transmission.
 9. The method of claim 5, wherein the scheduling information includes scheduling parameters for the PDSCH, comprising at least one of a system frame number (SFN), a number of slots per radio frame, a slot number in a frame for the PDSCH, a starting point of the radio frame for the PDSCH, a starting physical resource block (PRB) of PDSCH, and/or a number of subframes indicating an interval after the UL data transmission using the PUR.
 10. The method of claim 5, wherein a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) is not monitored.
 11. The method of claim 1, further comprising, based on the DL information not being acquired and/or the DL information indicating that the UL data transmission using the PUR has failed, performing a PUR transmission failure procedure.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein it is determined that the DL information is not acquired based on expiry of a timer which starts upon performing the UL data transmission using the PUR to the network and/or based on no information being acquired during a certain number of subframes.
 13. The method of claim 1, wherein the wireless device is in communication with at least one of a mobile device, a network, and/or autonomous vehicles other than the wireless device.
 14. A wireless device configured to operate in a wireless communication system, the wireless device comprising: at least one transceiver; at least processor; and at least one computer memory operably connectable to the at least one processor and storing instructions that, based on being executed by the at least one processor, perform operations comprising: receiving, from a network, a configuration of a preconfigured uplink resource (PUR); while in a radio resource control (RRC) idle state and/or an RRC inactive state: i) performing uplink (UL) data transmission using the PUR to the network; ii) attempting to acquire downlink (DL) information on a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) from the network; and iii) based on the DL information including a timing advance command (TAC) media access control (MAC) control element (CE) but not including an acknowledgement of the UL data transmission, considering that the UL data transmission using the PUR is successful.
 15. A wireless device configured to operate in a wireless communication system, the wireless device comprising: at least processor; and at least one computer memory operably connectable to the at least one processor, wherein the at least one processor is configured to perform operations comprising: acquiring a configuration of a preconfigured uplink resource (PUR); while in a radio resource control (RRC) idle state and/or an RRC inactive state: i) controlling the wireless device to perform uplink (UL) data transmission using the PUR to the network; ii) attempting to acquire downlink (DL) information on a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) from the network; and iii) based on the DL information including a timing advance command (TAC) media access control (MAC) control element (CE) but not including an acknowledgement of the UL data transmission, considering that the UL data transmission using the PUR is successful. 16-18. (canceled) 